Several Pride of Oklahoma members are partnering with a Norman elementary school to become mentors to young students.
Eighteen members of The University of Oklahoma band have volunteered to be paired with classrooms at Kennedy Elementary. Eighteen teachers, ranging from pre-K to fifth grade, volunteered to participate in the partnership.
Once a week, the Pride members will spend an hour with the students in their assigned classroom. As mentors, they will develop relationships with students and assist with schoolwork and activities. Members will also perform for the school during assemblies.
Pride of Oklahoma members participate in the Kennedy Elementary partnership on Nov. 9.
Kevin Russ graduated from the University of Oklahoma in May with a degree in elementary education. While at OU, he played cymbals in the Pride of Oklahoma for four years and is now in his first year at Kennedy Elementary teaching fourth grade. He said Amber Bui, the principal at Kennedy Elementary, proposed the partnership when she offered him a teaching position.
“I interned at Cleveland (Elementary), and I saw the partnership that they had with the men's gymnastics team, and I saw the benefits that come with that kind of partnership,” Russ said. “This is a really good opportunity for the kids here. And so, I immediately reached out to the directors of the Pride.”
Though other Norman elementary schools have partnerships with OU athletic teams, fine arts partnerships are uncommon. Despite the robust music programs offered by Norman Public Schools, Kennedy is the first elementary school to partner with the Pride.
Bui said that the school’s relationship with the Pride creates an essential connection within the Norman community. Pride members demonstrate a route of higher education for students that is realistic and accessible within Norman, and the mentorship gives young people role models that allow them to visualize their future.
Pride of Oklahoma member and Kennedy Elementary student interact on Nov. 17.
“The more connections we have with the community, and the more support that we have with any community organization is really beneficial to our students,” Bui said. “It gives our students the realization that, ‘Hey, I could go and play in the band at OU, too.’ Even if one kid decided, ‘That's what I want to do,’ it's worth it.”
NPS has departments for instrumental and chorale music, drama, dance and visual arts. At the city level, support for the arts includes the 2nd Friday Norman Art Walk and Norman Music Festival. Partnering with the Pride gives students the ability to connect with opportunities NPS and the city provide.
“The fine arts, I would say, (are) an essential part of Norman,” Bui said. “This really kind of goes hand in hand with that fine arts piece that Norman (is) so proud of.”
Kennedy Elementary students have had an overwhelmingly positive response toward their mentors. Students have already built connections with their mentors and asked when they will return.
Jessica Johnson is a freshman elementary education major and plays alto saxophone in the Pride of Oklahoma. She said she has wanted to be an elementary school teacher her entire life, so the opportunity to be part of an elementary classroom was incredibly exciting.
“It has been a lifelong dream of mine to become a public school teacher,” Johnson said. “There are so many teachers in my family, so, I feel like it’s in my blood, in my DNA.”
She said that working with students has been an inspiration, especially as the semester enters its home stretch. Despite only being on week three with the students, she said she has already made discoveries about what it takes to be a teacher through this experience.
“As I've gotten older, I've gotten less creative and imaginative with art. But the little kids, they're very imaginative,” Johnson said. “I'm having to break into my imagination, for sure, to be able to connect with them on their artistic level.”
Kennedy Elementary students hold a "We Love OU Pride" sign on Nov. 17.
Johnson said she can see the impactful relationships being built with second grade students she assists.
“I have already formed a really good connection with the kids, and they have one with me,” Johnson said. “It really gives them someone to look up to, and it also puts (in) the back of their mind the Pride. … It might make them want to join a band or any other sort of musical class whenever they get older."
